Blood Solstice

Chapter 20

"I would never do anything to hurt her, Rose. She's been so good to me," I whispered.

Rosalie stared down at the table. "I know. I know you wouldn't. But I know that something could still happen, be it intentional or not. I don't want to see my sister the way she was before you came into her life. She wasn't the same. She was a shell of herself, even when I first met her. The fact that she's been alone almost as long as Edward has had a great effect on her. Then she saw you and all of that changed. I want her to stay that way. I don't want her to suffer anymore."

She stood up then, feeling that the conversation was done. She'd said her part, now she wanted me to think over what she'd told me. I couldn't help but think that deep down she did want me not to join the family. I couldn't be sure, though.

Still...

"R-Rosalie?" I stammered.

She turned to face me at an angle. "Yes?"

"I...I don't hate you either. In fact, I want to be friends with you," I murmured.

That surprised her. Something flashed in her eyes that I didn't recognize. She turned away from me to hide the shock on her face, though I was still able to see it for a few seconds.

"I, um..." She didn't know how to respond to that. Emmett appeared downstairs and smiled at me as Rosalie fumbled over how to respond. In the end, she more harrumphed and looped her arm around Emmett's. He gave me a thumb up as the two walked out of the door.

I sighed quietly, running a hand through my hair.

"Nicely done," I jumped slightly at the new voice and glanced up to see an amused Amara smiling at me. She was standing a few feet away, resting against the wall.

"Geez, Amara. You startled me."

She shrugged her shoulder sheepishly. "Sorry. Gotta say though, you managed to keep your cool pretty well considering. Plus, you stumped Rose at the end. The look on her face was priceless."

I rolled my eyes. "I was being serious though."

"I know you were," she replied, grinning.

"So where's Alice?" I asked.

"She'll be back shortly. She needed to go clear her head is all. Don't worry, you'll be kissing her in no time," Amara chuckled. I blushed slightly and hid my face in my hands.

"Oh, leave her alone Amara," sang a familiar voice. I looked up and smiled.

"Alice!" I shouted happily. She grinned and danced over to me, pulling me into her body for a warm hug. I nuzzled into her shoulder, breathing in her amazingly sweet Neapolitan scent. Oh how she smelled amazing. I mean seriously. Bottle some of this up for me.

"Silly girl, I wasn't gone for that long," she teased, kissing my shoulder.

I pulled away from her shoulder and received a gentle kiss on the lips. I moaned quietly at the sensations and the taste and kissed her back, forgetting that Amara was still in the room. Hell, I forgot that the others could hear it. I didn't care, either. I needed this.

We pulled away at the same time, both smiling at one another. She seated herself next to me and proceeded to cuddle with me, much to my delight. One of the many things I loved about Alice: how amazingly cuddly she was. God it was like snuggling with an oversized teddy bear. Well, a cold, rock hard, bloodsucking teddy bear, but whatever. Close enough.

"I love when you're like this," I murmured, nestling into her neck. She giggled and did the same thing.

"You two are so adorable together," Amara mused. I had completely forgotten she was still in the room with us. "Don't mind me; I'm just going to watch some TV. You two go on and enjoy snuggling with one another. Actually, I should take a picture..."